753 the old man: Tantalus.
759 Ixion . . . Sisyphus . . . Tityos . . . the Danaids . . . Phineus: a list of all the
usual mythological punishments of the underworld. See note to Phaedra,
line 1237, and for the Danaids, Medea, line 749. The Theban bacchants
are the women driven mad by Dionysus (see note to Oedipus, line 441).
Phineus, a prophet, revealed the secrets of the gods and was punished by
harpies (women with wings), who stole his food before he could eat it.
764 hideous old man: Charon.
830 Eurystheus was hurried into birth: when Hercules was about to be born,
Jupiter vowed that the child born from his house that day would rule
Mycenae. Juno, out of envy, hurried up the birth of Eurystheus, so he was
born before Hercules, and became the king — and thus able to order
Hercules to carry out the labours.
841 the festival: the Olympic Games, held in honour of Jupiter; by ancient
inclusive counting, the ‘fifth’ summer is what we would call the fourth,
because the games were, then as now, held every four years.
847 the holy rites: the Great Mysteries, a ritual celebration at Eleusis of the
fertility goddess, Ceres; it was held at the autumn equinox, when the day
and night are equal.
853 hair cut yet: boys’ hair was cut at puberty.
894 poplar: particularly associated with Hercules, to whom these two lines are
addressed.
903 my Lord: Bacchus. Lycurgus attacked the god and his servants, and the
god took revenge. Later, apparently, Bacchus performed a miraculous
crossing of the Red Sea and Persian Gulf, perhaps parting the waters like
Moses.
908 at least the ones . . . stepmother: other sons of Jupiter not by Juno who live
in heaven include Bacchus and Phoebus Apollo, and also Orion, Perseus,
and Castor and Pollux.
917 caves . . . fountain . . . Tyrian palace: alludes to the major tourist-sites of
Thebes, a city which had multiple founders: first the city was founded by
Cadmus, and then the walls were built by Zethus and his brother
Amphion, sons of Antiope by Jupiter, who were raised in a cave when
* * *
236
notes to hercules furens, pages 166–182
their mother was forced to expose them on Mount Cithaeron. Dirce,
wife of Lycus, was cruel to Antiope; the sons, Zethus and Antiope,
killed her by tying her to the horns of a bull. Bacchus marked the spot
of her death with a fountain. The stranger-king is Cadmus, who came
from Tyre.
945 the Lion: the first monster killed by Hercules, the Nemean Lion, is
equated with the constellation Leo. Leo prepares to pounce on Taurus,
the Bull.
965 Saturn . . . chains: identified with the Greek Titan Cronos, the father of
Jupiter, whom Jupiter imprisoned in the underworld. Hercules is the
grandson of Saturn because he is the son of Jupiter.
977 Tityos: see note to Phaedra, line 1237.
981 Mimas: one of the giants who rebelled against the Olympian gods,
named by Horace (Odes, 3. 4).
998 Mycenae . . . Cyclops built: the kingdom of Eurystheus, Hercules’
enemy. The monumental city walls were said to have been built by the
Cyclopes.
1141 the distant country . . . Ocean: Gibraltar, which lies on the furthest point
of the Mediterranean.
1159 night . . . longer than for mine: on Hercules’ conception see note to line 24.
1171 lords of Libya: Hercules suggests that his enemy could repeat his own
labours: defeating the horses of Diomedes, the Thracian (who used to be
fed on Diomedes’ guests); capturing the cattle of the monster Geryon;
and defeating the tyrants Antaeus and Busirus (in Africa/Libya).
1181 the tyrant of Argos: Eurystheus.
1211 Symplegades: the Clashing Rocks (see note to Medea, line 456).
1342 Mars had his hands . . . clean of murder: Mars killed Halirrhothius after
he raped his daughter, Alcippe; the trial after the murder took place on
THYESTES
9 the wheel . . . Tityos: for these famous sufferers in the underworld see note
to Phaedra, line 1237.
16 the guard: Cerberus, guard-dog of Hades.
17 Acheron: one of the rivers of the underworld, but here used to describe the
whole underworld.
22 Minos: the judge of the dead.
33 exile: both Atreus and Thyestes, at different times, are exiled and then
return to power.
37 god: this can be taken as general or unspecific (like ‘the gods’ or ‘fate’), or
as a reference to the god Apollo — whose oracle told Thyestes that he
could only get revenge by incest.
* * *
notes to thyestes, pages 182–185
237
42 even worse their births: the deaths of Thyestes’ children, murdered by
Atreus, will not be as bad as the conception of Aegisthus, by the incest of
Thyestes and his daughter.
43 plotting against him: Atreus’ wife, Aerope, plotted against him with
Thyestes; Clytemnestra plotted with Aegisthus to kill her husband
Agamemnon.
56 Thracian crime: Procne’s murder of her son Itys, as revenge on her hus-
band Tereus for his rape of her sister Philomela. The crime will be
repeated, because again children will be killed as revenge on their father;
this time it will be three children, not one.
57 Uncle: Atreus.
58 [Is Thyestes . . . children?]: the square brackets indicate that I think the line
is probably spurious (as do many editors). It seems to interrupt the
sequence of thought.
63 you: addressed to Tantalus.
73 Phlegethon’s . . . water: Phlegethon, one of the four rivers of the under-
world, flowed with fire not water.
74 punishments: this list of underworld punishments is based on Virgil,
Aeneid, 6. 548 – 627. The sinners who suffer these things are not famous
characters.
83 those above: the word used here — superi, lit. the ‘upper ones’ — could con-
note either the world above the underworld, or the gods. Tantalus hopes
to evade both.
90 my father: Jupiter.
100 I follow you: this is a rare instance of an incomplete line in Seneca.
In the original it is just one word (sequor).
108 water is pushed back: the trees and water replicate on earth Tantalus’
underworld punishment: fruit dies and waters withdraw.
115 Lerna: a watery swamp, famous as the abode of the Hydra (a monster
killed by Hercules). Alpheus is a river in the Peloponnese.
119 Argos . . . ancient thirst: Argos was parched of water before the legendary
figure Danaus built wells for it.
139 Myrtilus: a charioteer, who betrayed his master, Oenomaus, for Pelops,
who promised him half his kingdom if he sabotaged Oenomaus’ chariot.
Pelops then went back on his word, and drowned Myrtilus on his way
home.
142 infamous Myrtoan sea: this stretch of the Aegean Sea was particularly
dangerous. The implication is that the sea is treacherous, like its
namesake.
144 The little boy: Pelops, whom Tantalus tried to serve up to the gods.
154 Harpies: birds with women’s faces punishin
g Phineus, king of Thrace
(see note to Hercules Furens, line 759).
* * *
238
notes to thyestes, pages 187–195
240 blood in doubt: refers to Atreus’ suspicion that Thyestes may have fathered
his children, Agamemnon and Menelaus.
273 house of Thrace . . . feasts unspeakable: Thrace is the location of the Procne,
Tereus, and Itys story: Procne fed Tereus his own son, Itys — an obvious
precedent for Atreus’ plan (already cited by the Fury, lines 53 – 4).
276 our motives are alike: Atreus claims that Procne’s anger at her
sister’s rape is similar to his own anger at Thyestes’ supposed rape of his
brother’s wife.
308 other agents: i.e. other than Atreus’ own sons.
337 Inachus: a river-god, was the first king of Argos.
338 fixed: there is an ambiguity in the verb (composuit): the Chorus think that
the quarrel is settled or resolved (i.e. finished), though the audience
knows that the worst of it is just begun.
344 Wealth does not make the king: the Chorus here expound the Stoic
principle that only the wise man is king.
345 Tyrian purple: an expensive dye associated with royalty.
355 Tagus . . . golden: Roman gold came mostly from Spain. Tagus is a river
in Spain (modern Tejo), which was known for its gold deposits.
357 Libyan harvest: Roman wheat mostly came from Libya (North Africa).
370 Dahae: a barbarian tribe on the outer edges of the Roman empire, known
for their archery.
375 Sarmatian invaders: refers to the area of Armenia, protected by the ridges
of the Caucasus (the Caspian Mountains) from the nomadic tribes from
the east; the Sarmatae ranged through modern Ukraine and Georgia.
379 Seres: a people who lived in the south-west part of modern China. Seneca
emphasizes their distance from the known world (lit. ‘in whatever place
they lie’).
384 Parthian . . . pretends to flee: see note to Oedipus, line 119.
408 built by the Cyclopes: see note to Hercules Furens, line 998.
421 [tantalus junior]: Thyestes’ son is, as was common practice, named
for his grandfather.
442 since I can die: i.e. the power to die implies total control over the world — a
similar notion to the redefinition of kingship in Stoic terms, in the previ-
ous choral ode.
452 drain their cups in safety: the implied contrast is with kings and
emperors, whose food and drink may be poisoned.
460 piles of rocks: refers to the Roman practice of building out into the sea.
497 Umbrian hound: a breed known for their keen sense of smell.
508 How nice to see my brother!: Atreus’ soliloquy presumably ends here. ‘How
nice to see my brother’ is addressed to Thyestes, but of course with
* * *
notes to thyestes, pages 196–203
239
a double meaning; it is genuinely nice for Atreus to see Thyestes in such
a bad state.
545 the designated offerings: Atreus constantly uses puns and dramatic irony
against Thyestes. Here, for instance, the ‘bindings’ are the crown, but
also suggest that he has succeeded in binding his victim in the net. The
‘offerings’ will include Thyestes’ children, soon to be killed.
549 devotion: the word used here, pietas, could also be translated as ‘family’ or
‘duty’ or ‘loyalty’.
581 Scylla . . . Charybdis: Scylla the sea-monster and Charybdis the
whirlpool (see note to Medea, lines 351 and 408).
583 their father: the Cyclopes are one-eyed giants, metalworkers, who
feature in the Odyssey; their father is Poseidon, god of the sea.
595 the shaken Cyclades: there is an allusion here to the legend that Delos, an
island in the Cycladic group, once literally moved around, without a fixed
place in the sea (see note to Hercules Furens, line 15).
628 two good brothers: Castor and Pollux, brothers of Helen; their devotion to
one another is implicitly contrasted with the relationship of Thyestes and
Atreus.
660 the trumpet, the broken chariot: the trumpet (for starting the chariot-race)
and the chariot itself were dedicated by Pelops, after he successfully got
the charioteer to sabotage the vehicle of his rival, King Oenomaus, in
order to win the hand of Hippodamia. On the way home, Pelops killed the
charioteer, Myrtilus, and threw him into the Myrtoan Sea (see note to
line 139).
667 Styx . . . swear faith: river of the underworld, by which the gods swear
their oaths.
687 juice of Bacchus: wine, since Bacchus is the god of wine.
695 audience: Atreus plays all the parts in the sacrifice, including that of
observer — the person who had to watch for any bad omens during the
ritual.
778 you set too late: the sun set at midday, but only after the dreadful dinner
had already been eaten.
799 the ninth hour: lit. the ‘third’ quarter of the day, i.e. around 3 p.m. — the
time when most Romans ate dinner. In Rome, trumpeters sounded
the hours.
811 Tityos . . . Typhoeus . . . Pelion . . . Ossa: these lines trace a series of
questions about whether the old battle of the gods and the Giants (Tityos
and Typhoeus) will be renewed. The Giants supposedly piled mountains
one on top of the other, Pelion on to Ossa, in their attempt to storm
Olympus.
817 all gone wrong: Aurora, goddess of the dawn, is apparently upset
that Phoebus Apollo, god of the sun, arrives to bring the day at some
unusual time.
* * *
240
notes to thyestes, pages 203–211
820 into the sea: usually the sun’s horses are taken into the ocean by Tethys,
goddess of the sea.
851 carried Helle: Aries is identified with the Golden Ram, who carried
Helle and her brother over the Hellespont (see note to Medea, line
471).
860 Old Chiron: the centaur, tutor of Achilles, identified with the archer
constellation, Sagittarius.
865 whoever you are: there were competing scholarly ideas about who
Aquarius, the Water-Carrier, was: possibilities included Ganymede,
cupbearer to the gods, and Deucalion, the survivor of the world’s great
flood.
1005 Do you not recognize them?: at this point Atreus reveals the children’s
heads.
1077 King of the Sky: Jupiter.
1083 triple mountain . . . Giants: see note to line 811.
1099 I have my sons . . . marriage back: Atreus crazily asserts that he has
proved his paternity of his sons, and undone Thyestes’ adultery with
Atreus’ wife, by his act of revenge.
* * *
Document Outline
Contents
Introduction
Note on the Text and Translation
Select Bibliography
Chronology
Mythological Family Trees
PHAEDRA
OEDIPUS
MEDEA
TROJAN WOMEN
HERCULES FURENS
THYESTES
Explanatory Notes
* * *